Muhammad (c. 570–632) (Arabic:
محمد) , also transliterated Mohammad, Mohammed,
Muhammed, and sometimes Mahomet (following
the Turkish), is God's final prophet sent to guide
all of mankind with the message of Islam. He is
referred to as "The Prophet" (Arabic: النبي)
within the faith.
According to traditional Muslim biographers, he was
born c. 570 in Mecca (Makkah) and died on June 8, 632
in Medina (Madinah). Both Mecca and Medina are cities
in the Hejaz region of present day Saudi Arabia. The
name Muhammad means "the praised one" in Arabic.
Summary
The name "Muhammad" written in Arabic calligraphy as a
form of devotion Born Muhammad ibn Abdullah, he is
said to have initially been a merchant who traveled
widely.
Muhammad often retreated to the mountains outside
Mecca, for prayer and contemplation. In 610, at about
the age of forty, while praying in one of these
mountain caves called Hira, he was visited by the
Angel Gabriel who commanded him to memorize and
recite the verses sent by God. These verses were later
collected as part of the Qur'an. Gabriel told
him that God (Allah in Arabic) had chosen him as the
last prophet to mankind. He eventually expanded his
mission as a prophet, publicly preaching a strict
monotheism and warning against a Day of Judgement
where all humans shall be held responsible for their
deeds. He did not completely reject Judaism and
Christianity, two other monotheistic faiths known to
the Arabs; rather he said that he had been sent by God
in order to complete and perfect their teachings. Many
in Mecca resented his preaching and persecuted him and
his followers. Eventually, persecution followed and in
622, he was forced to flee from Mecca (the Hijra) and
settled in Yathrib (now known as Medina) with his
followers, where he was the leader of the first
avowedly Muslim community. War between factions in
Mecca and Medina followed, in which Muhammad and his
followers were eventually victorious. The military
organization that was created by this struggle was
then set to conquering the other tribes of Arabia. By
the time of Muhammad's death, he had unified Arabia,
spread Islam throughout the Arabian Peninsula, and
launched expeditions to the north, towards Syria and
Palestine.
Under Muhammad's immediate successors, the Islamic
empire expanded into Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia,
Persia, Egypt, North Africa, and Iberia. Later
conquests, commercial contact between Muslims and
non-Muslims, and missionary activity spread Islam over
much of the globe. |
